Captain Jenks: The Real Pioneer of the Maine Coon Breed

Modern experts tend to believe that the history of the origin of the Maine Coon breed is much more prosaic. Cats were brought to America a long time ago, but they were mostly short-haired individuals. Long-haired cats arrived on the continent much later, along with the first settlers from the Old World. As a result, having found themselves in favorable conditions for free crossing, the native cats and the newcomers became the ancestors of a new variety of large long-haired cats.

A real pioneer in the development of the Maine Coon breed was a cat named Captain Jenks of the Horse Marines. This fluffy giant delighted audiences in 1861, making a mark at cat shows in Boston and New York and eclipsing the then popular Angoras. But by the 20th century, Maine Coons had lost their popularity and were driven out by the Persians and Siamese for almost half a century. After the end of World War II, Maine Coons regained popularity, though at that time only within the American continent. In 1953, the breed acquired its own official club, and in 1968 the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association (MCBFA) was founded. As for Europe, Maine Coons arrived there only in the 1970s.

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